Ajit Pawar | Caught in a muddle

Ajit Pawar is yet to find his feet after joining the BJP-led alliance government in Maharashtra. His NCP faction bagged crucial portfolios, but the deputy CM is still No. 3 in the pecking order

BOXED IN? File pix of deputy CM Ajit Pawar at the monsoon assembly session in July. (Photo: Mandar Deodhar)

In late July, the Maharashtra government issued a directive that any proposals approved by deputy chief minister and finance minister Ajit Pawar must be routed to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s office for final clearance via the other deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. It cannot be easy for a man who has been used to unquestioned power.